620 Teachers and tango publicity
Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2002 13:56:45 -0400
From: Robinne Gray <rlg2@CORNELL.EDU>
Subject: Teachers and tango publicity
Steve, Tom, Tim, et. al.,
To revisit an old thread: I like Tom's idea of a tango conference for
instructors--online discussion is nice but not a complete substitute for
friendly, face-to-face networking with others. In addition to the
particulars of pedagogy, we should trade info about less-fun aspects of
teaching, like (ugh) getting liability insurance, and share our thoughts
about "best practices" for growing a viable community of dancers.
Here in Ithaca, a smallish university town, our primary exposure to
non-dancers is via the flyers we put up around town. (We also put ads in
the daily and arts weekly but those contain minimal info). A couple weeks
ago I considered re-designing our current flyer, so I set about looking at
tango websites from different communities in the U.S. to see how the
various instructors promote their dance classes. More specifically, I was
curious how others represented/described the dance to potential students
who are non-dancers. There is much about the concept of Marketing that I
detest, but for the moment I'm trying to think like a marketer. How to
provide enough information about tango to be enticing, but not so much that
it's boring and academic? What is the "right kind" of information and
tone? How do we get past the popular notions of Hernando's Hideaway and
rose-in-the-teeth?
I find I have some resistance to many of the common descriptions of the
dance as "romantic" and/or "passionate". We all know it can be both, but I
don't necessarily want to attract newcomers on that basis. Shy types may
find all that passion intimidating; to others it may come off as some
refined version of a meat market. And those adjectives don't really speak
to the immediate classroom experience; students learning to walk together
in an embrace rarely look romantic or passionate. "Fun" is sometimes
used. All social dancing is fun, to me, but somehow the word don't quite
fit, maybe because it's too broad. (Some people think going to
Chuck-E-Cheese with toddlers is Fun). Some promo text talks about "meeting
new people," which can be a strong motivation to take a dance class....or
to join a bowling league.
Several sites and teachers place the emphasis on the instructors,
listing credentials and such, but to me that approach only makes sense if
you're trying to attract experienced social dancers (or get teaching
gigs). Newcomers are unlikely to recognize the names of Veron or Zotto, so
they sure as hell aren't going to care much about the detailed biographies
of myself and my partner.
I'd be interested in hearing from others how they try to convey the
spirit of the tango with a few words and graphics.
~Robinne
Ithaca, NY
Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2002 14:24:29 -0500
From: "Frank G. Williams" <frankw@MAIL.AHC.UMN.EDU>
Subject: Re: Teachers and tango publicity
How doin' Robinne?
Hi friends...
Marketing tango:
From my perspective, tango is exotic to the outsider. Exotic movement,
exotic music, and some exotic kind of energy (perhaps from the heart of
another culture) driving the whole thing. So, for me, the key to
marketing is *discovery*. As one studies tango one discovers a whole
body of unique music, a whole vocabulary of unique movements, a new
medium for emotional expression and quite possibly a new spectrum of
emotions to express. That's alot to discover! Perhaps the marketer
shouldn't let on that there is virtually no end to that discovery
process... ;-)
Best,
Frank - Mpls.
--
Frank G. Williams, Ph.D. University of Minnesota
frankw@mail.ahc.umn.edu Dept. of Neuroscience
(612) 625-6441 (office) 321 Church Street SE
(612) 624-4436 (lab) Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 281-3860 (cellular/home)
Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2002 14:13:36 -0500
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: Teachers and tango publicity
Marketing is a frequently overlooked aspect of developing a tango
community. The difficulty is that when think of marketing, we immediately
think we will misrepresent the product.
In most communities, word of mouth and tango websites are the primary form
of marketing. Dallas is no exception. In asking students where they
learned about our tango classes, word of mouth and one of the two Dallas
websites are the most frequent responses.
The website that Susan and I maintain has a section that lists all Dallas
tango activities <https://www.tejastango.com/tango_dallas.html>.
It contains a directory of Dallas tango teachers
<https://www.tejastango.com/dallas_tango_teachers.html>.
Tango Argentino Dallas also has website with a section that lists nearly
all Dallas tango activities <https://www.tangodallas.org/Calendar.htm>.
In Dallas, one member of our Thursday night teaching group has distributed
flyers in the neighborhood around the studio where we teach, and we seem to
be getting a good response.
Susan and I have also organized a few hit and run milongas to raise the
visibility of tango in the community. These have been more successful in
raising visibility than attracting new students directly.
Some teachers in Dallas give frequent exhibitions. Sometimes groups of
teachers collaborate to give exhibitions to raise the visibility of tango
in the community. From what I have seen, the exhibitions do not seem to
attract many people directly, and exhibitions have the potential
attracting people to tango for the wrong reasons.
On the websites and in the group exhibitions, the perspective that is taken
is that all teachers of Argentine tango in the community are equal. As a
person who maintains one of the Dallas websites I have occasionally
received a question about why I may have listed particular individuals as
teaching on my website. My answer is there is no organization that is
licensing/certifying/endorsing any of the local teachers, and I am trying
to preserve a sense of community.
I do have some concern that the approach that every teacher is equal works
to the advantage of the weaker teachers and to the disadvantage of the
inexperienced dancers and, therefore, to the community as a whole. Those
who do not learn because their teachers are less capable may walk away from
the community out of the frustration of failing to learn.
I do not think it is possible, however, to simply exclude those "teachers"
who are less capable and preserve a sense of community. Already, some of
the newer teachers in our community have developed a sense of alienation
from other teachers because they (the newer teachers) do not see other
teachers as accomodating their needs.
With best regards,
Steve
Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/
Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2002 17:09:38 -0400
From: "Lisa E. Battan" <Battanle@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: Teachers and tango publicity
Hi All,
I think a common stereotype of tango is that it is exotic. Again, we harken back to the rose in the mouth thing. Who wants to do that? Not your average working stiff who is trying to keep it all together while relating (in a healthy way) to work, house, family, bills, etc.
I especially want to stay away from (maybe my common misperception of) the "cheese" of ballroom (sorry all you ballroom fans.) I don't want any contact with affected head carriages, exagerated movements, plastic body parts or phony smiles.
One can associate "exotic" with unreal, foreign or unrealistic. Escape from the stresses of everyday life may well not be any of these. You may very well wish to forget the stresses of life and pay attention to something more immediate: listening or feeling some beautiful music, listening to your partner breathe, discovering where your body is in space, connecting with your feet, etc.
When I tell people that I tango, I receive all kinds of reactions. One common reaction is that tango is very passionate. I tell people that it can be, but it may not necessarily be that. Tango can be whatever comes up between you and your partner. And, as someone pointed out, passion may not be what arrises in a class. If anything your marketing should be realistic. It should describe what people have a liklihood of discovering in class, or what they may want to discover . . .
Lisa E. Battan
Lisa E. Battan, P.C.
2235 Broadway
Boulder, Colorado 80302
ph: (303) 444-8668
fax: (303) 449-2656
www.battan.us
lisa@battan.us
Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2002 17:07:48 -0500
From: Stephen Brown <Stephen.P.Brown@DAL.FRB.ORG>
Subject: Re: Teachers and tango publicity
Lisa Battan wrote:
>I think a common stereotype of tango is that it is exotic.
...
>If anything your marketing should be realistic. It should
>describe what people have a liklihood of discovering in
>class, or what they may want to discover . . .
The tango shows add to the stereotype that that tango is exotic and
passionate. Those aspects of tango show up well on stage. The inner
communication between two individuals that makes tango so remarkable is
often not visible to an audience unfamiliar with tango.
The difficulty in marketing tango is that the exotic and passionate aspects
of tango are easy to convey and many people will respond to them. The
result is shallow marketing--reaching many people with a false impression
of what tango is about. Reaching a few people deeply is the key to
building a tango community. Tango is about quality rather than quantity.
I think this calls for a rewrite of marketing techniques... toward finding
those few individuals to whom tango will really appeal. In that respect,
word of mouth may be the most effective marketing.
With best regards,
Steve
Stephen Brown
Tango Argentino de Tejas
https://www.tejastango.com/
----- Forwarded by Stephen P Brown/DAL/FRS on 06/20/2002 04:56 PM -----
Stephen P
Brown To: Battanle@AOL.COM
cc:
06/20/2002 Subject: Re: [TANGO-L] Teachers and tango
04:55 PM publicity(Document link: Stephen P Brown)
Hi Lisa:
How was your visit to the SF Bay Area?
Susan and I have hidden away in our webpage Zen in the Art of Tango <
https://www.tejastango.com/tango_classes.html>. I am not sure that everyone
is ready to see that there is an inner aspect to tango, and that the inner
is more important than the outward reflection.
The difficulty I see with "marketing" tango is that the "marketing" types
want to use the unrealistic images of tango because they are easier to
convey and will reach more people, albeit in a shallow manner. Reaching a
few people deeply is the key to building a tango community.
Un abrazo,
Steve
Hi All,
I think a common stereotype of tango is that it is exotic. Again, we
harken back to the rose in the mouth thing. Who wants to do that? Not
your average working stiff who is trying to keep it all together while
relating (in a healthy way) to work, house, family, bills, etc.
I especially want to stay away from (maybe my common misperception of) the
"cheese" of ballroom (sorry all you ballroom fans.) I don't want any
contact with affected head carriages, exagerated movements, plastic body
parts or phony smiles.
One can associate "exotic" with unreal, foreign or unrealistic. Escape
from the stresses of everyday life may well not be any of these. You may
very well wish to forget the stresses of life and pay attention to
something more immediate: listening or feeling some beautiful music,
listening to your partner breathe, discovering where your body is in space,
connecting with your feet, etc.
When I tell people that I tango, I receive all kinds of reactions. One
common reaction is that tango is very passionate. I tell people that it
can be, but it may not necessarily be that. Tango can be whatever comes up
between you and your partner. And, as someone pointed out, passion may not
be what arrises in a class. If anything your marketing should be
realistic. It should describe what people have a liklihood of discovering
in class, or what they may want to discover . . .
Lisa E. Battan
Lisa E. Battan, P.C.
2235 Broadway
Boulder, Colorado 80302
ph: (303) 444-8668
fax: (303) 449-2656
www.battan.us
lisa@battan.us
